• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.2747-2751
• /
• 2013

In this study we assessed the dietary phytochemical index in relation to the risk of breast cancer in women. This case-control study was conducted on 100 incident breast cancer cases and 175 healthy controls. Data regarding socio-demographic factors, medical history, medications, and anthropometric measurements were collected. Dietary data were obtained using a validated food frequency questionnaire and a energy-adjusted dietary phytochemical index (PI) was calculated. The odds ratios of breast cancer were assessed across energyadjusted PI quartile categories. The mean age of participants was $46.2{\pm}8.9$ and $45.9{\pm}9.4$ years in cases and controls, respectively. The mean PI across quartile categories was $13.9{\pm}2.6$, $21.1{\pm}1.8$, $26.7{\pm}2.1$, $41.6{\pm}10.2$ in the first, second, third and fourth quartiles, respectively. After adjustment for all potential confounders, the risk of breast cancer in the forth quartile of dietary PI was significantly decreased (OR=0.08, 95%CI=0.01-0.84). Higher intake of phytochemical-rich foods is associated with lower risk of breast cancer.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.252-261
• /
• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Although previous experimental studies reported the health benefits of foods rich in phytochemicals, few epidemiologic studies have investigated the associations between phytochemicals and metabolic disorders. This study aimed to calculate a phytochemical index (PI) and examine its association with metabolic syndrome in the Korean population. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Data of Korean adults aged ≥ 19 years who participated in the 2008-2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were analyzed. The PI was calculated using 24-hour intake recall data regarding whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds, and soybeans and soy products. Demographic and lifestyle data were obtained using self-administered questionnaires. A multivariable logistic regression was performed to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components according to PI quintiles. RESULTS: Overall, 31,319 adults were evaluated. Compared with men, women had a higher median PI level (9.96 vs. 13.63) and significantly higher caloric intake levels from most PI components (P < 0.05), except for soy products. After adjusting for multiple confounding variables, participants in the highest PI quintile had significantly lower prevalences of abdominal obesity (OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.81-0.99), hyperglycemia (OR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.74-0.94), high blood pressure (OR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.73-0.93), hypertriglyceridemia (OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.75-0.94), and metabolic syndrome (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.69-0.88). CONCLUSIONS: Higher intakes of phytochemical-rich foods are associated with a lower prevalence of metabolic dysregulation and consequently, cardiometabolic diseases.

• Journal of the Korean Society of International Agriculture
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.357-369
• /
• 2018

The Korean common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) has been receiving increased attention as a functional food. The objective of this study was to reveal the phytochemicals genetic variation and antioxidant activity of 209 Korean common bean landraces. Antioxidant activity was evaluated with the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate), ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) assay. Antioxidant activities among common bean accessions showed wide variation. Four flavonoids (kaempferol, myricetin, quercetin, and naringenin) of the 209 Korean common bean landraces were measured using HPLC. Among them, kaempferol had the highest phytochemicals compared to the other three flavonoids. Using the relative antioxidant capacity index (RACI), it was found out that the IT104587 had the highest antioxidant activity. Meanwhile, in clustering analysis, the Korean common bean landraces were classified into three clusters. Among them, cluster II contained 64 landraces with higher antioxidant activities and phytochemicals than the other clusters, except DPPH. The results could provide information on the valuable Korean common bean landraces for the development of new common bean varieties.

• CELLMED
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.11.1-11.7
• /
• 2012

Stachys tibetica Vatke (Lamiaceae) is an important medicinal plant in the folk medicine of Ladakh, India and Tibet for the treatment of various mental disorders. Infusion and decoction of the whole plant is used as a cup of tea for a severe fever, headaches and to relieve tension. The recent study is aimed to evaluate the preliminary pharmacognostical and phytochemical nature of Stachys tibetica Vatke. The whole plant material was subjected to successive soxhlet extraction with petroleum ether (40 - $60^{\circ}C$), chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and finally decocted with water to get the respective extracts. The fluorescence characteristics of the powdered materials were analysed under ultraviolet light and ordinary light. Different physicochemical parameters such as ash value, extractive value, foaming index, pH values, loss on drying and determination of foreign matter were carried out as per WHO guidelines. The total fat, flavonoid, saponin and volatile contents were also determined. Macroscopical studies revealed the authentication of the plant drug. Physicochemical parameters helped to standardize the plant material while preliminary qualitative chemical tests of different extracts showed the presence of Glycosides, Carbohydrates, Phytosterols/triterpenoids, Saponins, Fixed oils, Fats and phenols/tannins. Quantification of the total flavonoids and saponins and contents were determined as $54.66{\pm}0.58mg/g$ and $75.42{\pm}0.48mg/kg$ respectively, while the volatile and fat contents were 6.5% and 0.7% respectively. Results may lay the foundation for the standardization of the drug and discovery of new molecules from S. tibetica for the treatment of various diseases.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.5-9
• /
• 2017

This study was carried out to obtain the basic information that can be used to index Acanthopanax in eleven species of China and Korea. The phytochemical components from the berry of Acanthopanax species, were measured by the HPLC analysis. Protocatechuic acid, eleutheroside B, eleutheroside E, scopolin, rutin, hyperoside, chiisanoside, oleanolic acid were found in ethanol extracts from the berry of Acanthopanax species. Total phenolic compound of Acanthopanax sessiliflorum f. chungbuensis berry (0.682%) was about seven times higher than those of Acanthopanax divaricatus f. distigmatis berry (0.091%). As a result, the order of the eleutheroside E content was 1) Acanthopanax sessiliflorum f. chungbuensis (0.554%), 2) A. divaricatus var. albeofructus (0.501%), 3) A. divaricatus f. flavi-flos (0.452%). And also, the order of the chiisanoside content was 1) Acanthopanax senticosus var. subinermis (8.434%), 2) A. seoulense (0.94%), 3) A. divaricatus f. flavi-flos (0.798%).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.23 no.7
• /
• pp.953-958
• /
• 2013

Selaginella tamariscina is a traditional herb used in medicine. Phytochemical amentoflavone, a biflavonoid class of flavonoids, was isolated from the plant of Selaginella tamariscina. In this study, the antibacterial effects and combination effects of amentoflavone and conventional antibiotics such as ampicillin, cefotaxime, and chloramphenicol were investigated. These results showed that amentoflavone had a considerable antibacterial effect and synergistic interaction with antibiotics against various bacterial strains (fractional inhibitory concentration index ${\leq}$ 0.5), except for Streptococcus mutans. To study the mechanism(s) involved in the synergistic activities between amentoflavone and antibiotics, we detected hydroxyl radical formation using 3'-(p-hydroxyphenyl) fluorescein and measured the $NAD^+/NADH$ ratio by $NAD^+$ cycling assay. The results indicated that the formation of hydroxyl radical would be a cause of the synergistic effect and that this oxidative stress originated from a transient NADH depletion. This study suggests that amentoflavone synergizes with antibiotics and has potential as a therapeutic agent for antimicrobial chemotherapy.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.36 no.6
• /
• pp.462-470
• /
• 2023

The aim of this study was to investigate the hypoglycemic effects of saengshik in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and to explore the potential of three commercially available saengshik products (BS, LS, WS) as an alternative diabetic meal. Blood glucose levels were measured at 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes after the ingestion of experimental materials. In experiment 1, the amount of experimental materials remained the same. We measured blood glucose-related biomarkers as the area under the blood glucose response curve (AUC), glycemic index (GI), maximum concentration (Cmax), and time to reach maximum concentration (Tmax). AUC and Cmax of the experimental group showed significant differences compared to the control group, while GI and Tmax did not show significant differences among the groups but were lower in the experimental group compared to the control group. In experiment 2, carbohydrates were adjusted to the same amount. We measured blood glucose-related biomarkers in the same manner as Experiment 1 and obtained similar results. These hypoglycemic effects appear to be attributed to phytochemicals and dietary fiber found in whole, unrefined grains. These results suggest that saengshik exerts hypoglycemic effects by modulation of glucose-related biomarkers.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.237-253
• /
• 2018

The adzuki bean (Vigna angularis L.) is a red-grained legume that has a number of essential nutrients and is used in traditional dishes in Asia. Adzuki bean industrial by-products are also a potential low-cost source of some unique bioactive polyphenols. Hence, here, the authors aimed to perform a comparative study of the phytochemical profiles of the leaves and seeds of the adzuki bean and compare their antioxidant, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibition, and tyrosinase inhibition activity. The authors assessed antioxidant activity by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, PR, TPC, and SOD assays, which showed wide variation, respectively. From the relative antioxidant capacity index results, 10 adzuki bean landraces were selected to compare for phytochemicals and bioactivity using leaf and seed extracts. Antioxidant, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibition, and tyrosinase inhibition activity in the leaf extracts were higher than in the seed extracts, and there were more flavonols and isoflavones in the leaf extracts than in the seed extracts. This study demonstrated that adzuki bean leaf extracts could be a new natural antioxidant or antidiabetic agent and a skin whitener and can also be used in industrial applications.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.163-171
• /
• 2020

Brugmansia arborea L. (Solanaceae), commonly known as "angel's trumpet," is widely grown in North America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. It has been mainly used for ornamental purposes as well as analgesic, anti-rheumatic, vulnerary, decongestant, and anti-spasmodic materials. B. arborea is also reported to show anti-cholinergic activity, for which many alkaloids were reported to be principally responsible. However, to the best of our knowledge, a phytochemical study of B. arborea flowers has not yet been performed. Four flavonol glycosides (1-4) and one dihydroflavanol (5) were for the first time isolated from B. arborea flowers in this study. The flavonoids showed significant antioxidant capacities, suppressed nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 cells, and reduced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) protein production increased by LPS treatment. The contents of compounds 1-4 in n-BuOH fraction were determined to be 3.8 ± 0.9%, 2.2 ± 0.5%, 20.3 ± 1.1%, and 2.3 ± 0.4%, respectively, and that of compound 5 in EtOAc fraction was determined to be 12.7 ± 0.7%, by HPLC experiment. These results suggest that flavonol glycosides (1-4) and dihydroflavanol (5) can serve as index components of B. arborea flowers in standardizing anti-inflammatory materials.

• Nutritional Sciences
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.82-91
• /
• 2006

This study was performed to investigate the effect of normal diet with or without naringin supplement on the lipid and antioxidant metabolism in ethanol-treated rats for a short tenn. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups (n=10), which were assigned to one of three dietary categories : $E_8$ : ethanol diet for 8 wks, $E_4N_4$ : ethanol diet for the first 4 wks and normal diet for the last 4 wks, $E_4Nna_4$ : ethanol diet for the first 4 wks and normal diet with naringin supplement for the last 4 wks. Plasma total cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in ethanol fed rats for 8 weeks. The HDL-C/total-C ratios of the $E_4N_4$ and the $E_4Nna_4$ groups were significantly higher than that of the $E_8$ group, while the atherogenic index was lower in the $E_4N_4$ and the $E_4Nna_4$ groups than in the $E_8$ group. The $E_4N_4$ and $E_4Nna_4$ diets significantly lowered both the hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride levels compared to the $E_8$ group. Accumulation of hepatic lipid droplets was observed to be the highest in the $E_8$ group. In the current study, the naringin supplement to normal diet significantly lowered both the hepatic HMG-CoA reductase and ACAT activities in ethanol pre-treated rats for 4 weeks. Antioxidant enzyme activities were also upregulated when ethanol feeding was ceased. Naringin supplement given for 4 weeks after ethanol cessation resulted in a significant decrease in the plasma cholesterol and hepatic lipids and plasma TBARS as well as the hepatic HMG-CoA reductase and ACAT activities compared to the rats given ethanol diet for the entire 8 weeks. Replacement of normal diet following a short tenn ethanol feeding was effective for the recovery of ethanol-induced fatty liver and for normalizing plasma and hepatic lipid profiles and antioxidant enzyme activities, regardless of an additional phytochemical supplement, naringin. The effect of naringin could seemingly be more evident if its supplementation period had been extended longer than 4 weeks after ethanol cessation.